Getting help when you’ve lost your job

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Losing your job is one of the top five most stressful life events. Sometimes you can see the writing on the wall and are a little prepared for the announcement, other times it comes as a complete shock. No matter what, it’s never an easy period to deal with. Our work becomes so much of who we are, we spend a great deal of our time each week at work. It is part of our identity, we have built relationships with our team members and a workplace gives us somewhere to belong to. Having that taken away is stressful. Then there is the pressure of how am I going to survive? Where will I find another job? How will I manage financially? It’s no wonder that losing your job ranks in the top 5 stressors.

Many businesses offer their redundant employees what is known as Outplacement or Career Transition Services to assist the departing employee/s to manage the change and help prepare them for finding work. Sometime employees don’t take up the offer and this is where you may be missing out on an important opportunity to tap in to accessing services to help you take that next step. The emotions experienced with job loss can be similar to the grieving process when you lose of a loved one. There is the shock that you have lost your job when the news is first received. Then the anger sets in, why me, how could this happen, this can’t be true, surely they will change their minds or somehow the business will be saved. Then can come the depression stage where we can only see the negatives and we become consumed by the situation.

Everyone will move through the grief cycle at their own pace as they deal with the different emotions they are experiencing. The key is to be aware and willing to access the support available to you. This is where taking advantage of outplacement and career transition support services is critical.

How can Outplacement and Career Transition Services help you through losing your job?

Accessing Outplacement and Career Transition support will provide you with emotional support as you work your way through the grieving process. Having someone independent to talk through the emotions you are feeling and experiencing is important to help you work through the different stages of grief. An experienced provider will be able to listen, provide advice, and reassure you that what you are experiencing is not unusual and help you with taking the next steps, whatever those might be. You’ll find yourself in a safe environment to share your concerns and ask for help. Talking to team members, friends or family members can be hard. Maybe you feel that they don’t understand because they haven’t experienced redundancy. Accessing Outplacement and Career Transition services will help you develop a plan to work your way through the change.

Understanding yourself is a key part of successfully transitioning to a new job. Often when we have lost our job we can start to doubt ourselves and our abilities. In my experience many people, in a panic, start applying for any job and every job. The thought process is I just need a job. Two things can happen when you take this approach. One is that you start receiving rejection after rejection and your emotional state begins to spiral downwards because the doubts you were having about yourself and your abilities are reinforced. The other thing that can happen is that you get offered a job; you jump at this first job you are offered without really thinking it through because you just need a job. Sadly, within weeks or months you are back looking for work because you have jumped in to the wrong job for the wrong reasons. The reality is you don’t want to end up in either situation.

An Outplacement and Career Transition program will help you avoid these situations by working with you to help you understand yourself, your skills and abilities and target the type of vacancies that are going to be the right fit for you. Taking a structured and thorough approach will deliver you a much better outcome rather than taking a scatter gun approach.

Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know. The recruitment landscape is changing all the time and regardless of if it has been a couple of years or many years since you have had a resume or attended and interview, chances are times have changed and it’s highly likely that the job market and etiquette for applying for jobs and interviewing has changed. Undertaking an Outplacement and Career Transition Program will ensure you are up with all the latest trends and how to’s so that you have the best chance of landing your ideal job. From where to look for work, how to apply, application documents, responding to key selection criteria, preparing for an interview, right through to negotiating the job offer; you’ll be armed with all the information you need to make sure you are taking the best and most appropriate approach to looking for your next job.

If you are still unsure about if an Outplacement and Career Transition Program is for you, I’d encourage you to talk to the provider. Having a conversation and finding out what they have to offer based on your individual situation is the best way to determine if you’ll get value from a program.

Have you considered how your current salary compares to others in similar roles within Regional Victoria? Visit www.regionalsalaries.com.au and compare your salary now, it’s free and anonymous.

Angela Connor is the Founder and Director of Inspire HQ, one of regional Victoria’s leading recruitment, human resource and career coaching companies. She understands the significance of having the right team of people in a business and is passionate about helping business to attract, recruit and engage the right people so those people can inject their talents into the business; creating an environment where they can do great work and love what they do. Find more useful information and advice at www.inspirehq.com.au or by following Angela on LinkedIn.